The World in Black and White
by Siru Drawoh
Summary: The Game must go on. New characters, new events, new story, and new twists. Prepare for a wild journey throughout Shibuya and some appearances from some of our favorite characters. In the Reapers Game, it's partner up or get erased.
1. Tatsuki: Day 1

The streets of Shibuya were busy as usual. The Scramble Crossing was full of people, people of all shapes and sizes, all heading to their own destinations. One person in particular was running through the Crossing, an angry look on his face and tears running down his cheeks. The boy, who looked about 16, had medium length, spiky brown hair and bright emerald eyes. In his right hand he clenched something, an amulet he had received from his mother at the age of 7, one month before her death.

The boy ran frantically toward Dogenzaka, uncaring about the stares he was getting from the people he passed. When he reached the ramen shop, Ramen Don, he collapsed to his knees, breathing heavily and letting the sadness and anger that was welling up inside him come out. The owner of the shop, Ken Doi, came to the boy's side. "It happened again? Are you alright," he asked with a concerned look on his face. "I'm here for you if you need me Tatsuki."

"Yeah," Tatsuki said, "he hit me again. It's been getting worse ever since mom died." He wiped the tears from his from his angry face, "I'll have the usual." Tatsuki got to his feet.

"Shoyu with extra spice? Coming right up. Want anything to drink with that?"

"Orange Soda, caffeine free please."

"You got it. I won't charge you for it."

"Thanks Mr. Doi." Ken opened the door and allowed Tatsuki to enter first. Ken went to his kitchen after Tatsuki took a seat at the front. He quickly cooked up the special ramen and gave it to Tatsuki, along with an orange soda straight from his secret stash. Tatsuki picked up his chop sticks, said a quick itadakimasu, and started to eat. The ramen was just as good as always, full of wonderful soy sauce flavor and some of the best spices in the world. If there was one thing that would get his mind off of all the troubles in his life, it was Ken Doi's delicious ramen. He finished the ramen in about five minutes and after he swallowed his last bite, he opened his soda and took a drink. He leaned back a bit, careful not to lean to far out from the backless table. He took another drink and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath to relax.

"So," Ken said, "what exactly happened at home?"

"The usual, dad hit me."

"And he's starting to do it more often?"

"Yeah, ever since mom died… He's changed a lot. I hardly see my dad in him anymore…"

"I know its tough Tatsuki. People can change though."

"Tell me about it. Dad completely changed on me. He used to be a loving parent. I remember back when I could actually say I loved my dad. Now though, to be honest, I think I hate him. He's so cold now, broken and uncaring. If anything could change him, please, tell me what that is because I would really love to have my old dad back." Tatsuki took another drink of his soda. The orangey taste relaxed him more. He twiddled with his chop sticks a bit before Ken replied.

"There isn't a whole lot you can do to change," he said, "he has to want to change first. If he realizes all the pain and sadness he's causing then that's when you can help."

"Is there anything I can do to help him realize that?"

"You could talk to him about how you feel. Start with little things and work your way up as he starts to understand more. Help him along the way."

"Hmm," Tatsuki paused for a bit, "I suppose you're right Mr. Doi. I could give it a shot, nothing to lose, right?"

"That's the spirit Tatsuki! I know that you can do it if you set your mind to it. You've proven yourself capable before."

"Yeah, with things like school and creative stuff, but not interacting with people. I fail miserably when it comes to talking to people, other than you of course." Tatsuki scratched the back of his head and took another drink of his soda, finishing it. He crunched the can between his hands and threw it to the trash can, making the shot perfectly.

"You'll get the hang of it. After all, you weren't too open with me when we first met, but you got more comfortable talking to me. It's not impossible to figure out what to say and when."

"Right again I suppose, thanks for everything Mr. Doi." Tatsuki's cell phone started to ring. "Lemme get this, it's my dad." He flipped open the phone and answered the call with a monotone hello.

"Where the hell are you," his dad shouted, loud enough that Ken could hear it. Thankful that no one else was around, Tatsuki prepared a response.

"I'm at Ramen Don," he said, "I came here after you hit me." The memories of all the times his dad had hit him came back to him, making him cringe a bit.

"Oh yes, say that out loud you bastard. Let the entire friggen' world know that I touched you and you freaked out. You're so stupid Tatsuki; get your ass home right now." After all the things his dad had done to him, the added insults and lies finally made him snap.

"Screw you, you worthless pile of shit! I'm not coming back, ever! You can kiss your son goodbye! Good luck doing your own shit for a change, you stupid bastard!" Tatsuki slammed his phone shut just as his father started to yell at him. He got up from his seat and headed swiftly toward the door.

Just as he opened the door, he hard Ken yell for him to wait, but Tatsuki did not listen. He ran out to the streets of Dogenzaka and jumped over the wall to the car accessible street. He dashed toward the other side, determined to run away from home and finally get away from his father. He was almost there, almost to freedom, but freedom would not come to him. Just before he crossed the wall, he was hit by a car. The impact sent Tatsuki flying a few feet forward. He heard the sound of people shouting, one person, Ken, was on his phone calling for an ambulance. The ambulance would not come in time though, as Tatsuki would be long gone before then. He blacked out, his hand clutching his mother's amulet, and then he was gone.

"The game is your second chance Tatsuki. Would you like a second chance?"

Siru Alexander Drawoh presents

Based on The World Ends with You world created by Square Enix and Jupiter

The World in Black and White

Day 1: Pact of Survival

_Scramble Crossing… This is where I ended up, huh? Well, time to do this. _A beep. _My phone? Hmm… "Proceed to 104. You have 60 minutes. Fail and face erasure." That sounds wonderful._ A sharp pain hit his right hand, showing a timer set at 60:00 and counting down. _Wonderful, it's the timer from Hell. Let's see, 104 is right over there. Easy if you ask me. Where is that… Ahh, here it is. So this is a Player Pin? Let's see what it does. _Tatsuki tossed the pin up and caught it, his vision going blue upon doing so. He could hear voices, the thoughts of those around him. He tried to see if he could single out one person's thoughts instead of hearing everyone's all at once. After a few attempts, he was successful.

_Not sure how much good this will do in the game. It sure is interesting though. _He closed the field the pin generated and held it in his hand, looking down at it with a smile. The concept of reading other people's minds excited him, even if he couldn't think of a practical application for it at the moment. He was distracted from the pin by a strange force. Out of nowhere, three frogs appeared in front of Tatsuki. _What the hell are these? Frogs? One's coming toward me. Oww, it freakin' attacked me! Ngh, crap, they're all coming for me. I gotta get the hell out of here! _Tatsuki ran for the path to 104, but before he could reach the building, he was hit by an unseen force. _What the? Is that a wall? How the hell am I supposed to get to 104 if there's a damn wall in my way? Crap, they're gaining on me. I gotta find a way out of here! _He ran in a random direction, finding himself at the statue of Hachiko. The frogs were still after him. _How the hell am I supposed to get rid of these things?_

"Ahh, he's getting chased by the Noise, he must be a player!" The voice hit Tatsuki not a moment after it was spoken, the words coming from a girl. "You," she said when she came up to him, "form a pact with me!" The girl was a little shorter than Tatsuki; she had brown hair that went past her shoulders and blue-green eyes. A look of worry and panic was stricken across her face.

"A what," Tatsuki replied.

"A pact. It's the only way to beat the Noise!"

"A-all right. I'll form a pact with you."

A flash of light enveloped the two, sending a surge of energy throughout Tatsuki's body. "All right," he said to the girl, "now that we have a pact, how do we defeat the Noise?"

"You should have been given some Pins before the game started."

"Like this?" He held up his Player Pin.

"Yes, check your pockets for more!"

"Okay," he said, reaching into his left pocket. He pulled out five pins. The pins had designs on them, a shockwave, a bullet of energy, lightning, a gloved hand, and fire. "What do these things do?"

"Put them on and see if you can use them. Tap into the Pin's power to use a Psyche!"

"All right, here goes nothing!"

*******

The people who were at Hachiko all disappeared, as did the girl Tatsuki formed a pact with. He was alone, well, not completely. The three frogs that had been chasing him were with him, all ready to attack. _Let's do this! All I have to do is tap into the Pin's power. _He focused his thoughts on the Pin with the shockwave and lashed out at one of the frogs, hitting the frog with his hand as if he was holding a sword. "Wow, that was pretty cool! Time to die frog!" He attacked the frog until his Pin ran out of energy. "Why'd it stop? Huh? The pin feels drained… It's gathering energy, recharging perhaps? Time to use another one I guess." Tatsuki now focused on the pin with the bullet of energy and put his right hand forward, firing blasts at the frog he had attacked previously with a blast from his hand. The frog disappeared in a fit of static. He fired at one of the other frogs until the pin was drained of energy. "Let's try the lightning one now!" Focusing on the pin, he closed his eyes and targeted the frog with a mental mark, surrounding the frog with lightning that shocked and swirled around it. It disappeared just like the first one did. "Sweet, two frogs down. Lightning's gone, time to use the fire." Focusing on the fire pin now, he outstretched his arm, attempting to light the third frog on fire, but found he did nothing. "What the hell? Why can't I use this one? Grr, time for that one with the hand I guess." He went to use the hand Pin, launching a motor scooter at the last frog. Before the scooter hit the frog though, it disappeared like the other two did. "What? It disappeared? Weird…" A light started to shine and flashed, blinding Tatsuki. He felt himself being teleported.

*******

"Whew, they're finally gone. Good work mister." The girl was jumping in victory, happy that they had not been erased.

"Ahh, good thing too. I was afraid I was gonna die." Tatsuki remembered that the girl wasn't with him while he fought the Noise. "Where were you though? I didn't see you when I fought the Noise."

"Oh yeah, I didn't see you either. I think I remember one of the Reapers mention that the Noise exist in two zones. I suppose when we fight the Noise, we go into those separate zones."

"That makes sense. It explains why one of the Noise disappeared even though I had yet to hit it."

"Two of the Noise disappeared when I didn't defeat them too. Guess you defeated more than me." The girl giggled a little bit. "Oh," she said, "I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Kaori Suzumiya, pleasure to meet you." She extended a hand instead of the usual bow Japanese do when meeting someone.

"I'm Tatsuki Yoshiatsu, pleasure to meet you too considering you saved my ass." Tatsuki shook her hand, enjoying the casual mood of their meeting. "We should head to 104. There's a wall there, but I tried to go there by myself after all. Maybe now that we've formed a pact we can pass through."

"Worth a shot. Don't really want to get erased." She laughed a bit at the grim possibility. The cheery attitude she had was a welcome change from what Tatsuki was used to. "Let's go Tatsuki," Kaori said as she walked to the Crossing.

Tatsuki nodded and walked behind her, catching up to her and taking a place to her right. He looked at his right hand, noticing the timer on it was at 10:43. The pain it caused when it appeared on his hand sucked, but the fact that it kept the time for their missions was welcomed. It would have been a bit more annoying to have to keep checking his phone to see how much longer they had until time was up. "We gotta hurry," he said, quickening his pace, "only about ten minutes left."

"Right, can't be late now." The two started to run now, a sense of excitement running through the two, smiling at one another. Tatsuki didn't know anything about Kaori, but she was his partner and he needed her to survive. Most of his experiences with working with others were bad. Either his partner put all the work on him to do, held him back from doing the best he could, or just straight up deserted him. He was willing to give this partnership a chance since both of their lives were on the line. Tatsuki was sure that she would do her best to survive.

They reached the place where the wall was before and stopped. Tatsuki put his hands out to feel for the wall and found that it was still there. "Crap, still there," he said aloud. Kaori had a look of worry on her face. She was about to speak when Tatsuki noticed something odd. He motioned for silence and walked to a person. The person was dressed in a red hoodie with a hat and the hood over the hat, a dark undershirt, a pair of black pants, and black boots. He was standing near the wall and that was what made Tatsuki notice him. "Care to remove the wall for us?"

"Let's see… Pact confirmed. Wall clear!" Tatsuki looked at the invisible wall and saw a flash of light. "Later," the man then said.

"Quick question, are you a reaper?"

"Yeah, you'll probably see me around later."

"All right then. Thanks for removing the wall."

"Just doin' my job kid." The Reaper turned around and started to walk. "Oh yeah," he said, "forgot to give you this." The Reaper tossed a Pin to Tatsuki. The Pin had a design that stated 1,000 ¥. "Cash it in for some Yen. You'll need all the Yen you can get." The Reaper then walked away, leaving Tatsuki's sight quickly.

"The wall's gone Kaori," Tatsuki said as he walked toward her, pocketing the 1,000 ¥ Pin. _I'll save this thing for later. Don't know what the hell I'm gonna do with Yen considering I'm dead and all. _"Ready to go?"

"Yeah, and not a moment too soon. Clock's at 4:27." She started toward 104.

"Let's complete this mission,"

The partners walked to the 104 area. Just as they had entered the area, the timers on their hands disappeared. With a sigh of relief, Tatsuki sat down on the ground. "Well, that was interesting, don't you think?" Kaori sat down beside him and took a deep breath.

"Yeah, at first I thought I might not make it, but then I found you. Glad I formed a pact with you; you're really good at Psyches. I couldn't use half of the ones you did."

"I couldn't use this fire Pin. I don't know why."

"Not all pins are useable by everyone. I'm only able to use three of the six I have. I don't have one of those fire ones."

"Well here," Tatsuki gave Kaori the fire Pin, "you give it a shot in our next battle. Not like I'm able to use it anyway."

"All right, I'll give it a shot. Thanks."

"No problem." Tatsuki realized that he was easily talking to Kaori, which surprised him a bit considering he didn't have great people skills. It was good to talk to someone new for a change though. _Even though I died, I got away from my dad. This is the most fun I've had in awhile. Being confined to Shibuya doesn't feel like a bad thing right now. I wonder what dad is doing right now though. Does he care at all that I got killed? I doubt it. That ass doesn't care about me at all._

"By the way," Kaori said, interrupting Tatsuki's thoughts, "how old are you?"

"Oh, I'm 16. What about you?"

"15. Been so for about 3 months."

"Ahh. That's cool."

"What school do you go to?"

"I go to Shiba Commercial Secondary School. And you?"

"Hiroo High School. I really like it there. The classes aren't too big and there's a lot of communication between people."

"I almost went to Hiroo actually. My d-… My family decided that Shiba Commercial was better for me." _I don't want to mention my dad right now, epically since this conversation is nice._

"That's a shame. We may have met each other if you went to Hiroo. Think we even would have talked to each other though?"

"I don't know, I'm pretty sure the reason we talked to each other now was because it was either that or death."

"Ha, well, you've got a point."

"Yeah…" _If all the days are like this, I'll be alive again in no time._


	2. Yusuke: Day 1

_I'm sick of all this. Too many times I've been screwed over by everyone and everything in this life. I hate it all, the people, the places. I hate everything. No one's ever stopped to consider how the hell I feel. All people do is whine and complain about their stupid, petty, pathetic problems. "Oh no, I failed a test! Oh crap, I broke a nail! No, that boy denied me. My favorite band's broken up!" No one gives a crap, least of all me. I sit by myself at this stupid school for a reason, to get away from all you idiots! I put my earphones in and pump my music to levels that drown out all outside sound for a reason too, so I don't have to hear your annoying voices! My friends, ha, you don't deserve to be called my friends. Since when have you actually ever been friendly to me? Since when have you ever tried to help me or left me alone when I asked you to? All you do is use me, and I'm freaking sick of it. You're all so stupid. You really want to help me? Then go the hell away. You all make fun of me. The way I dress, the way I talk, the music I like, all of it is just another joke to you. You don't even stop to consider that maybe this poor bastard has some feelings under his cold exterior. I show no emotion for a reason, to give you assholes one less thing to ridicule me for! I've got the solution to all my problems in my hand right now. I've found one beneficial use to one of my so called "friends". Daisuke's father is a police officer, completely suited, even with a gun. Daisuke, you're so easy to fool. You really think I'm going to use this gun you stole to study its design in hopes of making a better one? You always were stupid. I'm going to use this gun to do something much better. Inside this wonderful invention is freedom, a bullet that will free me of all of this pain and hate. I say goodbye to this world, finally, and goodbye to you Daisuke. You're the only person I know who's ever done something for me. Thank you my "friend" and I'll be seeing you in hell._

Silence, and then the sound of a gunshot and a body falling to the floor, dead.

"Suicide is not a way out Yusuke. You aren't truly free. This Game will give you the chance you are looking for, the chance to free yourself from all the pain and hatred the world throws your way. Play the game, and you will find what you seek."

Day 1: Sad Shadows

_Why am I even playing this stupid Game? I don't want to live again… But what that guy said, that Reaper… "This game will give you the chance you are looking for…" I don't know what he means by that, but I suppose he was enigmatic enough to make me curious. The chance I'm looking for… To finally be free. Hmm… I wonder what my entry fee was though. He said it was what I held dear. I hold nothing dear though, not even myself… I suppose I just have to play the Game. The Player Pin… Seems like it scans other's thoughts. Like I want to know what the hell they're thinking about. These Pins in my pocket… Ice, blast, psychokinesis, and a cure drink. I have to form a pact to use these huh? I guess I have to find someone to drag along if I plan on winning this thing. _A beep came from Yusuke's phone. _"Proceed to 104. You have 60 minutes. Fail and face erasure. _A sharp pain on his left hand came, along with a timer set to 60:00 and counting down. _Creative way to tell us the time. Time to find a partner I suppose. _Yusuke walked to his left, unknowing where he was going. On his way to find a person, three frog Noise appeared, starring at him with expressionless eyes. They started heading towards him, but he did not care. When they attacked him, he easily dodged them. He spotted someone being chased by three other frogs and laughed at how pathetic he looked. He decided to follow the boy to see if he could form a pact with him, but as he approached him, a girl started talking to the boy. They said something to each other and were surrounded with a light. When the light faded, they engaged the Noise, disappearing to the battlefield. Yusuke looked around, seeing a statue of a dog and next to it, a boy breathing heavily, holding his bleeding arm

"I- I'm finished. Dammit, it's too early to lose this Game! How the hell do I kill these things!?"

"What," Yusuke said to the boy when he approached him, dodging attacks all the way there, "they never told you how to defeat the Noise?"

"No, they didn't even talk about these things!"

"I guess they tell different people different things. You have to form a pact with a player who doesn't have a partner. I just so happen to not have a partner myself. Form a pact with me, or we'll both die."

"Okay… I'll do it! I don't want to be erased!"

"Good decision…" The same light that surrounded the two people earlier now surrounded Yusuke and the other boy. With a smirk of eagerness, Yusuke engaged the Noise.

*******

_All right, time to put these things to use. This ice one is up first. Prepare to die! _He raised his arm, looked at the group of Noise, and flicked his index finger upward; summoning a pillar of ice that managed to hit all three of the Noise. He then proceeded to blast one of the frogs until it was erased, doing the same to the second one. He raised up a traffic sign next with his psychokinesis and launched it toward the last frog, erasing it on impact. He summoned a drink for the hell of it, even though he sustained no damage. It was orange soda in the drink, not his favorite, but it was better than nothing. "Too easy. Those frogs were some pushovers." A light started to shine, flashing finally and blinding Yusuke, teleporting him out of the battlefield.

*******

"Ngh, I couldn't use any of my pins besides that one with the hand on it," the other boy said.

"At least they told you how to use the damn things. I was beginning to think you were an incompetent partner."

"Sorry about all that. I did get attacked in battle a lot…"

"Guess I did all the work then. They tell you that the Noise exist in two zones?"

"Yeah."

"Good, glad I don't have to tell you every damn detail of this game."

"You sound angry. You okay?"

"It's a long story and we don't have any time. 4:48 left. Get off your ass and let's get to 104." Yusuke started to walk in the direction of 104, knowing at least that much about Shibuya. The boy followed him soon, catching up to him and preparing to ask a question. Yusuke preemptively answered the boys predictable question. "Yusuke Kitsuke," he said, "17 years old and go to Shiba Commercial Secondary School."

"Ahh, I'm Yoshi Nagano. I'm 14 and I go to Hirro High School. Pleased to meet you Yusuke." Yoshi stopped to bow, but Yusuke motioned for him to keep walking.

"Save the formalities for later. Right now, the mission."

"Ahh, understood. Sorry about that."

"It's fine." A feeling of relief came to Yusuke's left hand, causing him to stop. He looked at his palm and saw no counter. _We haven't even reached 104 yet. Didn't that Reaper say something about other's finishing the mission finishes it for everyone? Hmm… Maybe it was those two kids who finished the mission. _"Hey, your timer gone?"

"Yeah actually. Why did that happen?"

"Some other players may have finished the mission already."

"Wait, that clears it for all of us?"

"No dip shit, it just removes the timer for no absolute reason…"

"Then we have to hurry or we'll be erased! Wait… Was that sarcasm?"

"Yes, yes it was."

"…I suppose I deserve that."

"You're hopeless Yoshi."

"Hey! I am not!" Yusuke smiled, the first genuine smile that has appeared on his face in a long time. The Game turned out to be a lot more fun than he thought it would be, even if his partner was a bit stupid.


End file.
